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Thursday, April 29, 2010
Gregory was hoping for much bigger NCAA field
I saw where Gonzaga coach Mark Few was a proponent for keeping the status quo with the NCAA tournament, but most coaches favored going to 96 teams - including Dayton’s Brian Gregory.
The NCAA is increasing by just three teams to 68, getting official approval from the board of directors today.
Asked about the meager bump in the tournament field, Gregory said: “I’m disappointed. But I also get the idea of making steps in the process. I think maybe they’ll see how the expansion goes with three teams and maybe make a bigger move after that. I think they’ll eventually get to 96. Maybe it was too drastic a change in a one-year span.”
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Wright received honest feedback on decision
After having just finished explaining to the media why he decided to pull his name out of the NBA draft, Chris Wright had to endure a little needling from coach Brian Gregory.
“I thought you were going to tell them how much you’d miss me,” Gregory joked.
“I would have but I didn’t want to make people cry,” Wright replied.
There are no tears in Flyerville today with the news that the All-Atlantic 10 first-team selection is coming back for his senior year.
Wright could have been a second-round pick, according to NBA projections Gregory received. But only first-round players receive guaranteed money, and Wright is enjoying himself too much at UD for now to begin his pro career.
Wright said he knew he was making the right decision when he saw the Flyers’ seniors getting their pictures taken at UD Arena in their graduation garb.
“When I saw them getting their caps and gowns, I told them, ‘I can’t wait until I get mine,’ “ Wright said. “They knew what I was thinking.”
The junior forward had a tight inner circle. It included his mother, Ernestine Grigsby; his uncle, J.D. Grigsby; former Trotwood coach Ike Thornton; Wright’s AAU coach Ozzie Davis; and Gregory.
But he also received feedback from friend Jacob Pullen, a junior star at Kansas State. Both players were lamenting how little time underclassmen have to decide whether to stay in the draft - essentially being limited to one week to impress NBA teams.
“Jacob Pullen said, ‘I’m not going to even go through it,’ “ Wright said. “He said he’s going to come back and he felt I should do the same thing. For that to come from somebody else, we care about each other enough to share information like that.”
With a star-studded recruiting class on the way — Wright and Juwan Staten roaring down the floor on a fastbreak has to be a scary proposition for opponents — and a solid nucleus returning, the Flyers can make a spirited run at an NCAA berth next season.
“Me coming back and those guys coming in and the core guys we already have, it’s going to be serious,” Wright said. “I’m to the point now where, if a guy isn’t doing what he’s supposed to be doing, you can put it on me. BG can come to me and say, ‘Chris, why isn’t he doing this?’
“I’m man enough and been through enough that it’s time for me to be a leader. That’s going to make me work harder. If I’m not on top of my game, how am I going to make somebody be on top of their game?”
Gregory believes changes need to be made in the May 8 rule for underclassmen. The NBA actually allows underclassmen to keep their names on the board until June 14 — 10 days before the draft. But college coaches complained about being left hanging so long. The NCAA changed the deadline for pulling out to May 8.
“It’s terrible,” Gregory said. “That’s the one thing we found out. We got a lot of positive feedback (about Wright) from the NBA underclassmen draft committee — early second round to mid-second round. And obviously he possesses a lot of the things to have been able to move up.
“(Thursday) was the first day you could talk to NBA teams about workouts. A couple NBA teams called, setting up some workouts. I told Chris that was going to happen. He said, ‘Coach, that doesn’t matter. I’ve prayed long and hard about it. This is the right decision for me at this time. Workouts aren’t going to change my thought process, and why would I do that to an NBA team when I’ve made my decision already?’
“One week isn’t enough. If he had three or four weeks to work out, I really believe he’s the type of guy through individual workouts and the time people get to spend with him, that he would move up. The question is, and this is what he had to debate, would he move up to a position where he would want to go? Even if he did, it wasn’t the time for him to go.”
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UD’s Wright to return for senior season
Chris Wright will return for his senior season at the University of Dayton, he announced Thursday afternoon at a press conference that came shortly after the Dayton Daily News first published the news.
Wright, a 6-foot-8 forward from Trotwood, addressed the media at UD Arena to discuss his future.
Wright announced earlier this month that he intended to enter the NBA draft, but did not hire an agent. That allowed him to retain his collegiate eligibility. He had until May 8 to make a final decision.
“I got positive feedback from the NBA,” he said, “but I made my decision now, so why wait?”
“I’ve prayed a lot about it. I talked to my family and decided this is right for me,” Wright said.
UD won the National Invitational Tournament this season, beating North Carolina in the championship game.
